Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley presides over the prayers of final commendation during the funeral Mass for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston Aug. 29.

BOSTON - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was mourned at a Boston
church and laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery Aug.
29, amid words of comfort from the Book of Wisdom, Paul's
Letter to the Romans and the Gospel of Matthew, and
recollections of his life by his sons, his pastor, President
Barack Obama and Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick.

During the funeral Mass for the senator at Boston's Basilica
of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Father Mark Hession, pastor of
Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, Mass., linked the
Scripture readings - chosen by Kennedy, his wife, Vicki, and
their family - with elements of the senator's own life and
faith.

"St. Paul states our case with his usual confidence," Father
Hession noted of the reading that opens: "If God is for us,
who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but
handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us
everything else along with him?"

Father Hession said "that confidence (that) the triumph of
life over death is rooted in the central belief of Christian
faith" is the conviction on which all Christian faith is
built - "that Christ who passed through death to new life
will, as he promised, lead us through death to new life as
well."

"We hold the life of Sen. Kennedy with reverence and
respect," Father Hession continued. "We also recognize that
like all of us his life has a destiny beyond history, destiny
of risen life in the kingdom of God."

Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley presided over the funeral
and said the final prayers of commendation. Boston College
chancellor Jesuit Father J. Donald Monan, a longtime friend,
was the main celebrant.

Four other priests concelebrated: Father Raymond Collins,
pastor of the basilica, also known as the Mission Church, and
the senator's longtime friends Father Gerry Creedon, pastor
of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington; Father Percival
D'Silva, pastor of Holy Redeemer Church in Kensington, Md.;
and Jesuit Father Donald MacMillan, chaplain at Boston
College.

A long list of family members participated by giving the
readings and petitions, taking up offertory gifts or serving
as pallbearers or ushers. Music was provided by cellist Yo-Yo
Ma, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, mezzo-soprano Susan
Graham and tenor Placido Domingo.

Kennedy's two sons, Patrick and Ted Jr., offered remembrances
at the end of the Mass. Each recalled lessons learned and
strength gained from their father.

In his eulogy, Obama said that through a variety of types of
suffering in his life, Kennedy "became more alive to the
plight and suffering of others - the sick child who could not
see a doctor; the young soldier sent to battle without armor;
the citizen denied her rights because of what she looks like
or who she loves or where she comes from."

Later, during the burial service at twilight at Arlington
Cemetery in Virginia, Cardinal McCarrick, Washington's
retired archbishop, said Kennedy deserved his reputation as
the lion of the Senate.

"His roar and his zeal for what he believed made a difference
in our nation's life," said Cardinal McCarrick.

"Sometimes, we who were his friends and had affection for him
would get mad at him when he roared at what we believed was
the wrong side of an issue," he continued, "but we always
knew and were always touched by his passion for the underdog,
for the rights of working people, for better education and
for adequate health care for every American.

"His legacy will surely place him among the dozen or so
greats in the history of the Senate of the United States," he
said.

A letter to the pope

Cardinal McCarrick also read excerpts of letters exchanged by
Kennedy and Pope Benedict XVI in the last few weeks. Kennedy
sent a personal letter to the pope that Obama delivered
during their meeting at the Vatican in July. The Vatican
responded a couple of weeks later, the cardinal said.

He explained that he and Kennedy's family thought using parts
of the letters would help "commemorate the faith of Ted
Kennedy and the warm and paternal spirit of Pope Benedict
XVI."

Kennedy wrote to the pope: "I have been blessed to be a part
of a wonderful family, and both of my parents, particularly
my mother, kept our Catholic faith at the center of our
lives. That gift of faith has sustained, nurtured and
provided solace to me in the darkest hours. I know that I
have been an imperfect human being, but with the help of my
faith, I have tried to right my path.

"I want you to know, Your Holiness, that in my nearly 50
years of elective office, I have done my best to champion the
rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity,"
he continued.

"I've worked to welcome the immigrant, fight discrimination
and expand access to health care and education. I have
opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are
the issues that have motivated me and been the focus of my
work as a United States senator," he said.

Kennedy also told the pope: "I have always tried to be a
faithful Catholic, Your Holiness, and though I have fallen
short through human failings, I have never failed to believe
and respect the fundamental teachings. I continue to pray for
God's blessings on you and our church and would be most
thankful for your prayers for me."

Cardinal McCarrick said that two weeks later, Kennedy
received a reply.

It read, in part: "The Holy Father ... was saddened to know
of your illness, and has asked me to assure you of his
concern and his spiritual closeness. He is particularly
grateful for your promise of prayers for him and for the
needs of the universal church.

"His Holiness prays that in the days ahead you may be
sustained in faith and hope, and granted the precious grace
of joyful surrender to the will of God our merciful father.
He invokes upon you the consolation and peace promised by the
risen Savior to all who share in his sufferings and trust in
his promise of eternal life," it said.

"Commending you and the members of your family to the loving
intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father
cordially imparts his apostolic blessing as a pledge of
wisdom, comfort and strength in the Lord."